Lonoke County, Arkansas. Cooperative Extension Service. We are part of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Serviceâs statewide network and the University of Arkansas Systemâs Division of Agriculture.
Archimedes was born c. 287 BC in the seaport city of Syracuse, Sicily, at that time a self-governing colony in Magna Graecia, located along the coast of Southern Italy. The date of birth is based on a statement by the Byzantine Greek historian John Tzetzes that Archimedes lived for 75 years.
Archimedes also invented the Archimedes screw, which raises water up from rivers for the irrigation of fields. In addition to discoveries in math and physics, he also invented weapons to help the Greeks fight off Roman invasion. One of those weapons was the catapult.